Taliban released after sending fake letter

A prison in Afghanistan has released 12 Taliban members after receiving a faked letter from the government asking for their freedom.

Twelve Taliban fighters have been mistakenly released from an Afghan prison after wardens received a fake letter claiming to be from the national intelligence agency, police say.

"The Kandahar prison received a letter on Tuesday from the intelligence agency to release 30 inmates," said Ziaul Rahman Durrani, police spokesman for Kandahar province.

Eighteen of them were legitimately due for release, he said.

But the names of another 12 "were mysteriously added to the letter," Durrani said, adding that two of those had since been recaptured.

"We are trying to arrest the other 10, who had a hand in attacks against the security forces and other destructive activities." A committee was investigating the error, he said.

Intelligence agency officials were not immediately available to comment.

In February, 65 Taliban fighters were released by a decree from President Hamid Karzai.

The United States and NATO slammed the move, calling the men "dangerous" and likely to rejoin the insurgency.